Hans David Ludwig graaf Yorck von Wartenburg
Medium
striking (metalworking)
Dimensions
2.9; 10.35
About this artwork
Schenking van mevrouw J.M. van Gelder-Nijhoff
Art Historical Context
This striking 1815 medal by German medalist Daniel Friedrich Loos commemorates Hans David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, the Prussian field marshal whose bold decision to sign the Convention of Tauroggen in 1812 helped turn the tide against Napoleon. Measuring just 2.9 cm in diameter and weighing 10.35 grams, the piece exemplifies the intimate scale of early nineteenth-century commemorative medals, designed to be held and examined rather than displayed from afar. Loos, renowned for his precise neoclassical portraits, employed the traditional technique of striking—pressing a hardened die int...
About the Artist
Daniel Friedrich Loos · 1735–1819
Daniel Friedrich Loos (1735–1819) was a German medallist, engraver, and die-cutter who served as chief engraver and medalist for the Kingdom of Prussia during a crucial period of Prussian history. Born on June 15, 1735, in Altenburg and dying on October 1, 1819, in Berlin, Loos pursued an 84-year life that spanned from the reign of Frederick William I through the Napoleonic Wars and into the post-...